Used to be, when I was younger, I could drive 8, 12, 20 hours with no problem. Now, that mileage limit is coming way down. And I find "long" drives to be shorter and shorter--no more 600 or 800 mile days for me.

This trip, coming back from picking up our new 22 Sport in Orlando, we left very late in the day through no fault of our own, and had a 7 to 8 hour drive. So we were driving until well after midnight.

It occurred to me that we should adopt this rule: That no matter where we are, no matter what our schedule is, no matter where we have to be in the morning, that we pull over for a night's sleep at 9:00. No matter what. Even if it's only 4 or five hours. Because I just wasn't all that safe driving after five hours driving, or at 9:00 pm.*

Do y'all have practices like this?

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*I am proud to say that at 8:40, I realized I was nearly comatose. We pulled off at a rest area, and I lay down for 25 minutes. I didn't really sleep, but it was enough to recharge my batteries. The next 3 hours of driving were safe, even if grueling. I didn't plan on my first sack time in the new trailer being e so pedestrian, but I guess it did mean that I did survive until the NEXT sack time.

When I rode motorcycles long distance I had a mantra which I maintain to this day "ride your own ride". It was never about how many miles or hours or when I got there. It was always about the enjoyment of the ride.

Our plan while towing the trailer is to pull out at around 8:00 am and park at 4:00 pm. Many times we have parked at 4:00 even when we only had two more hours to go. Both of us being retired helps allow us to have this type travel schedule.

If trying to get to a destination, about all I can manage is 500 miles in a day. I don't mind overnighting in a Wal-Mart or a rest stop, but it's good to call it a day before dark so you know what your surroundings are.

If touring, traveling long days kinda defeats the purpose. Couple hundred miles at most.

Most of my camping is work related. I
When I leave home for a trip I aways allow an extra day, just in case of road works or traffic backups. I also like to arrive in daylight, but occasionally do arrive in dark, as good practice. I try to stay ready for all types of events.

Most of the time, I follow the rules set down by the Department of Defense in their Joint Travel Regulations. To wit: Maximum of 350 miles per day, unless that leaves you within 75 miles of your destination, in which case you can go all the way to your destination. So, a one-day one-way trip is no more than 425 miles, a two-day one-way or longer trip is broken down into 350-mile segments, with the last segment being anywhere from 76 to 425 miles.

Once in a great while I have to go farther in a day, such getting to the family home in time for a funeral. When travel time is limited, I can go about 750 miles in a day. I don't like it, and I arrive at my destination too wired to sleep even though I'm too exhausted to do anything else, so I wouldn't dare drive the next day. I can't string 750-mile days back-to-back.

The problem is for those of us that still have kids is you are still living by someone else's schedule. You can only take your kids out of school when we say. So many times you are trying to get from A to B in a limited time on the worst week of the year for travel. We are planning on home schooling next year so maybe we can go 300-400 miles camp then do another 300-400 miles. Traveling during the week seems to make life easier as far as driving stress. Also you tend to drive faster when you have to get there on time. Don't get me started on traveling through Birmingham on a Saturday in the rain.

500 miles in 10 hours is reasonable for me in ideal conditions. Not retired yet, so we only get a week or two at a time, maybe once or twice a year. LOVE the desert, and if we wanna go to 1200 miles to Big Bend it's really not feasible unless there are a few long driving days involved.

But always prepared to park it short of destination due to traffic jams, etc. Because sometimes they happen on wide open stretches of interstates and you can't plan around them, such as you can avoiding rush hour in major cities.

We usually try and get to a campground during daylight hours for parking and setting up. Sometimes, if the CG has a pull-through and we are leaving the next morning, I just hook up the electricity and never unhook the AS. As far as stopping during the day, I used to go 5-6 hours, but now it's how far between "pee's".